PNB fraud: Criminal breach of trust charge added to FIR

Mumbai: The CBI today told a special court that it has added the charge of ‘criminal breach of trust’ to the case related to diamantaire Nirav Modi’s firms in the alleged multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

The maximum punishment for the offence under section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) of the IPC is life imprisonment.

During the course of investigation, the CBI arrested Gokulnath Shetty, the then deputy manager (now retired) of PNB, in connection with the issuance of fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs) to the firms controlled by Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems and maternal uncle of Modi.

“The acts of Shetty prima facie disclose commission of the offence punishable under section 409 of the IPC along with other offences already alleged in the FIR,” the CBI stated in its submission before the special court.

Earlier, the agency had pressed the charge of cheating under the IPC and relevant charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act in both the cases.

The CBI has alleged that firms controlled by Modi and Choksi obtained fraudulent LoUs and letters of credit (LCs), worth over 13,000 crore, from PNB in connivance with some officials of the bank.

Besides Shetty, the CBI has so far arrested officials of various firms owned by Modi and Choksi besides officials of the PNB.

Modi and Choksi, besides their family members, had left the country in January before the alleged irregularities came to light.